Improvement in flower-pot holders or stands



C. W. STEARNS. Flower Pot Holder or Stand.

No."2;14,o61.

' Patented April 8,1879.

N. PETERS, 'PHOTO-LITHOGRAPMER, WASHINGTON. D. C,

UNEI'.

TATE S CHARLES W. STEARNS, OF NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 214,061, dated April 8, 1879; application filed I February 26, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. STEARNS, of N ewport,in the county of Newport and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain Improvements in Flower-Pot Holders or Stands, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a flowerpot holder constructed in accordance with my invention, one standard or support only being employed. Fig. 2 is a perspective of my improved holder, provided with two standards united at their tops. Fig. 3 is a perspective of one of my socket or ring brackets enlarged Figs. 4, and 5, sectional details enlarged.

The object of my invention is to provide a portable flower-pot holder of unique and ornamental appearance of such construction as will admit of its being suspended at any desired height from the wall, window, or ceiling of a room, or from the porch or other convenient place outside the house, and also be capable of standing on its base on the floor or ground; and my invention consists in a single or double standard provided with a series of ring or socket brackets or shelves for receiving and holding the flower-pots, and capable of vertical and horizontal adjustment thereon, said standard having a sliding hook or other device, by means of which it may be hung or suspended at any desired height from the wall, window, or ceiling of a room, or from any convenient place outside the house, the standard being also provided at its lower end with two or more brackets provided with sockets or shelves, which, when the pots are in place, serve as a firm base or support for the holder to rest or stand on upon the floor or ground in any desired position, said construction admitting of various arrangements of the flowers or plants, so as to exhibit them to the best advantage, and to turn them to or from the sun at pleasure, besides affording the greatest facility for watering or trimming them.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the manner in which I have carried it out.

In Fig. 1 of the said drawings, A represents an upright hollow shaft or standard, within which, at its upper end, is inserted a sliding rod, B, the topof which is bent around to form a hook, a, by means of which the shaft may be hung upon a nail or projection and suspended from the wall, window, and ceiling of a room or other place, the shaft, when adjusted to the required height, being held by clamping a thumb "screw, 1), against the sliding rod B, Fig. 5. This vertical shaft or standard is provided with a series of brackets, C, eachtformed by a short arm, 0, having at its outer end a socket or annular holder, d, for the reception of a flower-pot, (not shown,) and at its inner end a sleeve, 6, which is snugly fitted to and is capable of sliding and turning upon the shaft A, by which construction the several sockets, with the pots and plants therein, may be raised or lowered vertically and swung around horizontally in any desired position, in order to expose them to the sun or remove them therefrom, and for obtaining access thereto to enable the attendant to conveniently trim orwater them. Secured to the lower end of the hollow shaft, and radiating therefrom at equal distances from each other, are three socket-brackets or annular pot holders or receivers of similar construction to that of those already described, arranged so that their bottoms lie in the same horizontal plane, the Whole, with the pots in place, forming a base or pedestal by which the holder may stand firmly upon the floor or ground. These socket-brackets (forming the base) as well as those above may be of uniform diameter or slightly tapering from top to bottom, either construction being adapted for receiving ordinary conical or tapering flower-pots of various sizes now in use.

The flowerpot holder represented in Fig. 2 is formed of two upright hollow shafts or standards, A A, united at their tops by a 1101- low connection, it, and at their bottom by a cross-bar or plate, 2', from the center of the opposite sides of which project two ring or socket brackets, G, the whole, when the pots are in place, forming a stable base for the holder when it is desired to rest it upon the floor or ground. When a holder of this style is to be suspended a wire cord, Z, passing into the hollow connection h, Fig. 4, and with its ends lapped by each other in opposite directions, and its bight bent in the form of a loop, is caught over a bracket, pin, or arm projecting out from the surface of the place where the holder is to be located. The wire cord is then drawn up or pushed into the hollow shafts to lengthen or shorten the loop to adjust the holder to the required height, a clampingscrew,-b, being employed for holding the looped wire cord after adjustment.

A flower-pot holder constructed in accordance with my invention is both light and durable, and when suspended occupies no floor or ground space, and when standing takes up less room than the ordinary holders now in use. It may be readily taken to pieces and compactly stowed for transportation, besides which its portability, while the pots are in place, renders it especially useful in frosty weather.

Instead of being hollow, one or both shafts A may be solid, if desired, and an adjustable device for suspending the same may be employed to slide thereon instead of therein, without departing from the spirit of my invention; but I prefer the hollow shaft as it combines lightness with strength.

I claim- As an improvement in flower-pot holders or stands, the single or double shaft or standard A with its ring or socket brackets O G, capable of vertical and horizontal adjustment, provided at its top with an adjustable device for suspending the holder, and having ring or socket brackets G C so arranged as to form a base for supporting the same, when constructed to operate substantially in the manner described.

Witness my hand this 25th day of February, 1879.

CHAS. W. STE'ARNS. 

